Sakana Namazu vs Hy4 preview
Sakana Namazu comes out ahead, 50 to 44 on our weighted score, though Hy4 preview is 27% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
Sakana AISakana Namazu
50/100- ECI—
- Price$0.95 / $4.00
- Context262K
TencentHy4 preview
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.834 / $2.50
- Context1.02M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Sakana Namazu is our pick
Sakana Namazu is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Hy4 preview (44). It leads on inputs & features. Hy4 preview wins on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceHy4 previewHy4 preview $1.25 · Sakana Namazu $1.71 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextHy4 previewHy4 preview 1,024,000 · Sakana Namazu 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSakana NamazuSakana Namazu: Text, Images, PDFs · Hy4 preview: Text
- Self-hostingHy4 previewPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Sakana Namazu | Hy4 preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 37 | 43 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 50/100 | 44/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Sakana NamazuSakana AI | Hy4 previewTencent |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.95 | $0.834 (best) |
| Output | $4.00 | $2.50 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.15 | $0.042 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.71 | $1.25 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Sakana AI API | Official Tencent TokenHub API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,024,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens (best) | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | Yes | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yeshigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | sakana-namazu | hy4-preview |
| API providers | 5 | 17 (best) |
| Released | Aug 3, 2026 | Aug 28, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Sakana Namazu$17.50
- Hy4 preview$13.34
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Sakana Namazu or Hy4 preview?
Sakana Namazu is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Hy4 preview (44). It leads on inputs & features. Hy4 preview wins on price and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Sakana Namazu or Hy4 preview?
Hy4 preview is cheaper at $0.834 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official Tencent TokenHub API price). Sakana Namazu costs $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Sakana AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.25 per million tokens for Hy4 preview versus $1.71 for Sakana Namazu (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Sakana Namazu has not been scored yet and Hy4 preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Sakana Namazu and Hy4 preview yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Hy4 preview has the largest context window at 1,024,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Sakana Namazu. Maximum output per response: Sakana Namazu up to 65,536, Hy4 preview up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Sakana Namazu accepts text, images and PDFs; Hy4 preview accepts text. Sakana Namazu handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Hy4 preview publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Sakana Namazu is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Hy4 preview is the newest, released Aug 28, 2026. Sakana Namazu came out Aug 3, 2026.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
